Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Hannah Sol Marie. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hannah, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about the best advice you’ve ever given to a client? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)

I had a client that came to me with the goal to gain confidence and change the way she held friendships, as she felt overworked and underloved. We went through a few sessions where she shared her frustrations with how she didn’t feel appreciated in her friendships and the struggle of feeling alone even though she was surrounded by a community. She had decided this was because she was a “mess” and “too difficult to handle” and that she was “dragging everyone down” as a person.

We had one call where she finally shared out loud the story that she told herself, the one driven by shame. We came to the conclusion that she was writing her story with her as the “villain” in her life; she blamed herself for any conflict she experienced and told herself she couldn’t be loved because no one wants to love someone that struggles. She believed she needed to be perfect to be loved.

I reminded her that she is the one writing the story, and that every day through her thoughts, emotions, and actions, she created this story. The story of her “villain hood”. I told her this is great news! This means she can change this story, and choose to make herself the “hero”.

I asked her, “Do you want to be the hero in your life?”

And she answered, “I didn’t even know that was an option.”

I told her that she IS the hero of her story. That’s kind of the point, right? We are the main character in our life – we only have control over how we choose to live, and no one else’s.

A hero is not perfect, a hero is someone choosing to do their best to be loving, brave, and kind, and not just to others, but to themselves. Choosing to be the hero in your story doesn’t mean choosing perfection, it means doing your best to be loving, brave and kind, even in your darkest moments.

We then spent the rest of the call discussing what it meant for her to be a “hero” in her story. Her focus was to take back control of her life, through most importantly, becoming aware of her thoughts; how she viewed herself when others rejected her and how she spoke to herself when she made mistakes.

Let me tell you, this woman is a total badass. Since then, she went on an intense self-growth journey, and now carries herself with such confidence, and holds deep, meaningful relationships where she’s not afraid to make mistakes. It wasn’t easy, and it didn’t happen overnight, but she is definitely the hero in her story.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I am Hannah Sol Marie, a relationship coach and a leader of women’s connection circles (both online and in person!). I am currently living a nomadic lifestyle, and moved from my recent home of San Diego this year with the intention to travel for the next year or so. I am most excited to explore South America and Africa. I am a lover of travel, yoga, climbing, dancing, trying new foods, connecting with people, and feel passionate about creating opportunities for women to be themselves, meet other women, and hold beautiful, authentic relationships.

I started coaching over 2 years ago in 2020, and created my women’s circle at the end of 2021. I first discovered coaching and saw the benefit, when I had an impactful experience at a retreat led by two amazing relationship coaches. These two powerhouse women opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking, of living my life, of relating to others in a way that drastically changed my way of being. After many years of searching, learning and growing, these coaches handed me the tools to help me create the life I wanted. After this experience, I carried around the dream to help other women find the tools they need to create the lives they want for themselves. I hired my own 1-1 coach and within six months, I started slowly building my business, through free coaching sessions, numerous networking events, and the determination to dedicate myself to this dream.

Almost 2 years later, I created my women’s circle, which are bi-weekly events meant to stir discussion, curiosity, and an open dialogue for women to establish deeper connections and authentically express themselves in a safe space. These circles are a magical little space, and although I started them in person in San Diego, I am now holding them online through Google Meet every two weeks until I return, which means women can join from all over the world! This is an open invite for all women to join, please click the link to my Facebook to join the Brave B*tches group, all info for meetings and events will be held there.

For any women looking to work with me one-on-one, I provide coaching services for women who want to create the life they desire, with a focus on healing themselves and their relationships. This is for the badass woman that is boldly living her life but wants support to hold beautiful friendships, open herself to a romantic partnership, or restore family relationships.

I am most proud of the circle I started, as when I held my first event, not one person came, the second only had 2 attendees, and yet I continued to show up and do the best I could. Within six months, the average attendance was between 20-30 women every circle!

The amazing results I’ve been honored to see in my clients remind me why I started all this in the first place. I’m thankful and excited to continue to grow my practice, connect more women together, and support others to live their best lives.

Connect with me more on HannahSolMarie.com!

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

My most effective strategy for obtaining clients has been through providing quality coaching, at first through free offers, and then receiving referrals from clients through word of mouth. I started offering free two hour coaching sessions, and this has by far been my most effective marketing. Clients receive such a powerful experience during those two hours that even if they don’t hire me, they are more likely to introduce me to others when they are looking for a coach. I have also gained clients through my women’s events and Meetup.com group, networking events, and word of mouth through social interactions. I currently don’t have much of an online presence on social media, but have a podcast being released later this year, and a website.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think the most helpful tip for succeeding as an entrepreneur, let alone in the coaching profession, is to be tenacious, adaptable, and forgiving of yourself. I have made many mistakes in the years since I started coaching, but I continue to learn from these and keep stepping forward. I stay motivated because I know my WHY – Why do I want to be a coach? Why do I want to hold connection events? For me, it’s because I desire to live a life where I can serve others. I want to see women live vibrant, dynamic lives, where they are loved and can love genuinely. That fills me up and keeps me driven to continue growing my work.

So, find your WHY, and then follow through with tenacity, no matter how many times you stumble. Adapt and move on – stumbling is the biggest benefit to your growth.

Contact Info:

• Website: HannahSolMarie.com
• Instagram: @hannahsolmarie
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/groups/bravebs

Image Credits
Photos taken by: Me Mikayla Alahuzos Ryan Dalke